Measures # 9 on Taxes & Budget

The Holistic Governance campaign favors a relatively high securities-speculation (capital gains) tax (1), in between 10 and 20 percent, to be placed on individuals who bring in more than $50,000 in annual capital gains annually or $75,000 for couples (joint filers).

Concomittantly to a general capital gains tax, Holistic Governance respectfully proposes a 20 to 40 percent specific reckless capital gains tax in all investments and securities that are based on harmful products and practices that cost Society a fortune (eg, like industrial cigarettes, pollutants, coal, GMO-glyphosate pesticides, semi-automatic guns, the polluting paper-wood industry, harmful allopathic drugs, corporate raidings and the like). For example, when an investor buys Philip Morris cigarette stocks, he or she should know that when he-she sells them for a hefty profit, that a no less hefty capital gains tax would be requested. Likewise with corporate raiders income, one effect of which is massive unemployment and the outsourcing of jobs.

On the other hand, profits from security investment that targets sustainable products that enhance health, sustainable jobs and the environment should not be subject to capital taxes. For example, profits from investments in organic foods, green energy, natural fibers, reforestration & hemp industries, organic wine industry, holistic health products, eco-housing etc should be exempt as should certain assets that can help to strengthen the middle class, including, but not limited to exemptions for primary homes, retirement income and like.

Under this proposal, according to our tentative rough calculations, fewer than 50,000 Washingtonians out of 7 million would pay for the general and specific capital gains tax, most of whom would be in the top 5 percent in terms of wealth. Thanks to this measure, Washington State could reap multiple billions of dollars to pay for the People’s basic needs and the State’s economic recovery, while investment would be redirected to spheres of economic sustainable activities that do not harm health, resources, the environment, living wages and eco-community.

RATIONALE

Contrarily to what most Republicans claim, it makes sense to introduce capital gains taxes in Washington State for many reasons, including because its Tax Code is quite unfair and hurts both the average worker and the economy, in particular the middle-class and low-income families while the wealthiest reap record gains on Wall Street and other lucrative investment profits. In fact, the poorest families in Washington pay a rate seven times more in taxes than the wealthiest 1 percent. In King County for example, since 2000, 95 percent of new households are classified as either rich or poor. A mere 5 percent are considered middle class. While incomes of the top 1 percent have grown at incredible rates, the rest of of the population is hurting.

Now that the stock market has recovered more than any other sector of the economy, a capital-gains tax would not endanger the financial elite’s lifestyle, while it would help to rebuild the basic needs economy via strategic public expenditure, inter alia.

Furthermore, buying and selling blocks of derivatives from rapid fluctuations in prices is one cause of the escalation in oil prices at the pump, the mortgage industry meltdown, and the dot.com bust as well as the billions of dollars transfer to the “one percent” (ie, hedge fund managers received up to one billion dollars).

A selective and targeted securities speculation tax would thus help to decrease taxes linked to the working world while reducing speculation in the markets, especially for the nefarious products.

In this perspective, Nobel Prize winning economist James Tobin proposed a similar tax on currency transactions (The Tobin Tax). As economist Dean Baker points out, the securities speculation tax would make the tax code more fair since most financial speculation is conducted either directly or indirectly by wealthy people.

“Just as poor and moderate income people pay taxes when they gamble at a casino or buy a state lottery ticket, a financial transactions tax would simply be applying a comparable tax to gambling in financial markets,” Baker observed. (Cf. The Feasibility of a Unilateral Speculation Tax in the United States by Dean Baker).

Taxing financial speculation is not “regressive”, and may be necessary for the sustainability of the State. Over 90 percent of currency goes into financial speculation while less than 10 percent (some experts say 2 percent) goes to feed the real economy. This situation is both unholistic and unsustainable.

Yet, most of the power elite and their Republican and Democrat representatives have heavily taxed the working economy (from 2 to 10 percent of the total finance mass) and not speculation transactions via capital gain’s taxes where up to 90 percent (i.e., some authors say up to 98 percent) of the money circulates.

To make matters worse, financial speculation tends to be reinvested in more financial speculation and “get-rich-quick” schemes (ie, “corporate raiding”, mergers and planned bankruptcies etc), the end result of which tends to be the replacement of the American worker with machines and the outsourcing of their jobs.

In other words, the Republican-Democrat “business as usual” model has continued to impose the tax burden on the 99 percent, the very same percentage which has had to acquiesce to socialized welfare checks for the benefit of the 1 percent via massive bail-outs, massive tax exemptions and massive tax relief for the financial elite.

Yet, both the financial elite and their billion dollars corporations have used most of these funds to accumulate more capital, more luxury, more nepotism, more outsourcing of jobs and more investment automation that will replace the common main street worker.

During the 2012 campaign when the Joubert campaign was voicing this concern, we were spending $8 on corporate tax breaks for every dollar we were spending on teachers. While the Inslee Government did talk about introducing a capital gains tax in 2017, to Joubert’s awareness, this proposal is either moot or insufficient.

WASHINGTON STATE’S PROPOSED CAPITAL GAINS TAX IS INSUFFICIENT

From the data reviewed, Washington state has does not currently levy a tax capital gains. The state’s own Department of Commerce stated: “We offer business some competitive advantages found in a few other states. These include no taxes on capital gains or personal or corporate income.”

Recently, however, Washington State’s Department of Commerce has removed the capital gains mention on their website because Governor Jay Inslee proposed a five percent tax on the capital gains from the sale of stocks and bonds that would bring in more than $25,000 for individuals and more than $50,000 for joint filers. Its funds would to to an education legacy trust account. In 2017, the Washington legislature will consider this proposal as well as other capital gains tax proposals. (Source)

While Governor Inslee estimates that the five percent tax on capital gains could generate $798 million in fiscal year 2017, another source suggests that the State could reap in close to 2 billion dollars in two years.

“Democratic leaders in the state currently are pushing a new capital gains tax plan, one which would place a five percent tax on investment income and impact two percent of the state’s wealthiest families. s soundly defeated. (…) 32,000 families in the state would pay a capital gains tax under the current proposal. The Democratic proposal calls for the five percent tax to be placed on individuals who bring in more than $25,000 in annual capital gains annually. ($50,000 for couples) (…) the tax would raise about $1.2 billion for basic education and $490 million for higher education by 2019.”(Source)

Still another source claims that the proposed capital gains tax would address only 2 percent of Washingtonians while providing around half a billion of revenue from especially millionaires.

“When you make a profit selling stock or other investments, or when you make a killing in Seattle’s hot housing market, the money you pocket is called a capital gain. Democrats want Washington to join the 41 other states that already have a capital gains tax. Much of the $550 million raised would go to education. “This proposal pays for an investment in K-12 and higher education and it’s an extraordinary responsible and fair proposal,” said Democratic House Revenue Chair Reuven Carlyle. Carlyle’s proposal calls for a 5 percent tax on investment income. With exemptions, only the top 2 percent of Washington families would pay and Carlyle says 80 percent of those families are millionaires. “Your retirement income is completely exempt, your primary resident is completely exempt, agriculture and timber industries completely exempt,” Carlyle said.” (Source)

Another source both confirms and adds as follows:

“However, a tax of 5 percent on individuals making at least $25,000 in a year in capital gains and on couples making at least $50,000 a year in capital gains is still in the House Democrats’ proposed budget. Gains from primary homes, retirement funds and most agricultural and timber capital gains profits would be exempt. It is estimated that 32,000 Washingtonians would pay a capital gains tax”. (Source)

Critics have claimed that capital gains tax revenue can be volatile from year to year and should not be levied. However, if the capital gain tax targeted only the top 5 percent and if it were selective as Holistic Governance proposes (focusing on harmful stocks like tobacco, oil, plastics and coal), then this tax would be less volatile, meaning more secure and stable.

Washinton State is one of the most innovative, tech-savvy, forward-thinking and environmental States in the Nation. Yet, Washington is one of just nine states in the country that does not have a capital-gains tax and remains the worse State of the Union to have an unfair, regressive and backward tax system. (Source)

In a holistic government, other related securities levies may be requested. Before any new securities tax hike, we would have an expert panel discussion so as to examine all of the details and options first. Joubert is not a professional politician. So preliminary talks and studies from competent authorities will always precede decision-making.

Although we need to work out the details, with this tax, it is projected that we will be able to pay for a significant part of the proposed public expenditure to non frivolous civil actions, free health-spa retreats for the needy, organic food stamps for the State’s + 20 k homeless and the proposed holistic health-care structure. (See HP’s ebook on Holistic Governance).

MEASURE 2: STATE CARBON TAX WITH THE GOAL OF 80 PERCENT EMISSIONS BELOW 1990 LEVELS BY 2050: Our neighbor British Colombia in Canada is already reaping success with this tax

Environmenalist governor..failed carbon emission tax. Add this.

In addition to protecting the environment, health and future generations, with this tax, we would also increase the consciousness of civic duties. We should set this tax to annual benchmarks to bring, with the expansion of solar and other renewable sources of energy, American and Washington’s emissions to at least 80 (preferably 90) percent below 1990 levels by 2050. B.C. Premier Campbell and his Climate Action Team set the 2020 goal of reducing by one third its emissions. Which is a success. Washington State’s government should emulate its Northern neighbor.

An initial price of $50 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions would harness, for the Nation, $300 billion annually and for Washington State, over 6 billion dollars, money that would help to finance carbon-reducing green buildings, organic agriculture (which sequesters carbon from the atmosphere) and alternative energy schemes.

This tax could also contribute in providing the State with at least 100,000 new green collar jobs (in efficiency retrofits, cogeneration, geothermal, solar energy generation, solar roads, green grid enhancements, eco-housing (straw bale, cordwood, adobe, bamboo, hemp, logs etc.) within a few years.

The carbon tax would be most efficiently levied at carbon bottlenecks, where flows of carbon are the most concentrated, including but not limited to: trunk pipelines for gas, refineries for oil, railroad heads for coal, LNG terminals, cement, steel, aluminum, and GHG-intensive chemical plants.

Because carbon is such a pervasive substance, any country or State that tries to put a dissuasive price on carbon alone would face the risk of driving its carbon intensive companies and jobs overseas to other jurisdictions that opt to give their companies no carbon costs.

This is why the Federal Government and the international economic system should be responsible and promote a universal polluter fee which would be the same for all States and countries, this way, there would be less risk that Washington companies would evade this tax by going to carbon-pollution havens. The Federal government, with Washington State, should also redirect their global leadership to providing developing countries the means with which to institutionalize such a single carbon (GHG) fee. Regarding Washington State’s coal train challenge, Joubert had proposed to go to China to negotiate ethical trade agreements so that China would choose another policy that building one coal burning unit each week (See H.G.’s energy issue). The Paris climate talks were most useful, but the US under the Democrats and the Republicans is dragging its corporate heels. Holistic Governance in Paris climate talks could have had a strong impact. Meanwhile, Washington State can give the example. And this would necessarily be good for the State’s own environment.

MEASURE 3: RECKLESSNESS TAXES AND HIGH FEES FOR FINANCIAL PREDATORS

Increasing taxes and penalty fees on goods and services that willfully destroy life is indicated, especially for corporations whose CEOs make few if any effort in reconversion, thereby endangering Nature’s biotops, social peace, inter-generation rights and future budgets.

This fiscal measure will incenticize the polluting industries to re-invest in life maintenance industries. Some of these industries that cost Society billions of dollars in terms of health and environmental damage are well known: big oil, big pharma, big plastics (ie, hormonal disrupters), big violence media, the big gun propaganda industry, the big agribusiness corps, the soda pop industries, cell phones, processed, fast foods, corporate fraud industries among others, in the private market. Likewise in the public sector, when police forces willfully choose violence disproportionately to the risk incurred, the law should be rewritten so that these officers are not immune from prosecution. Likewise with judges, politicians, bureaucrats and everyone else. We understand that law-makers and even judges and police officers have a right to some immunity, if only to get their job done, but when a certain threshold of abuse has occurred, these public citizens should be held accountable for their abuses and crimes and be taxed huge deterring recklessness fees.

The amount of fees and deterring taxes which are needed to encourage these industries and public citizens to re-invest in more sustainable and life maintenance industries and activities needs to be better determined after Legislative discussion and task force examination. Meanwhile, the Joubert Holistic Governance campaign estimated that this and the tobacco taxes will be able to pay for the State’s medical and health needs while creating an additional new 50,000 holistic health-care jobs.

Regarding financial predators who have recourse to predatory loaning and any other form of financial abuse that wrecks havoc on the People’s economy and their well-being should be deterred with high penalty fees.

Given the social and individual costs of industrial tobacco, a separate tobacco reckless tax would be desirable, via increment. Year one, for example, 10 percent additional tax (of today’s rate). Year 2, 20 percent. Year 3, 30 percent. Until the tobacco companies realize that they need to re-invest in other less toxic products. This tax will help to guarantee equal holistic health access.

In 8 years, once the State and the People collect more damage money from this industry, it would be reasonable to outlaw cigarettes as it was done in Michigan during the 19th century. Future generations could criminally accuse those who allowed industrial tobacco to be legal, from the theory of crime against humanity angle, whose statute carries no statute of limitations. The legal argument of being an accomplice to the crime of mass poisoning is not moot, as the element of “intent” can be established beyond any reasonable doubt.

However, before we get there, the State needs to assist Tobacco company to reconvert to a more useful industry and help them avoid massive unemployment of their employees. The Hemp, tree planting and organic agriculture fields would be possible. Part of this tax would for the benefit of health restoration and sustainable reconversion.

For smokers who are involved in a cessation program, organic tobacco would be given for free as long as they are making progress toward the goal of cessation. Tobacco as a mere backyard plant should not be outlawed. This would create an underground racket. What needs better regulation and high taxes is industrial tobacco, if only because it is more the toxic non-tobacco ingredients that damage health.

MEASURE 5: A SPECIFIC DETERRING TAXE ON THE IATROGENIC AND NOSOCOMIAL CAUSES OF CHRONIC DISEASES:

The sick-care system, laden with productivity blow-backs, costs the Nation over 3 trillion dollars a year. A single-payer system is better than Obama-care, but insufficient to deal with the Nation’s health challenges. Allopathic drugs and high-tech medical devices, hospitals (which tend to be concentrations of infections and malpractice) need to be completely revamped. To assist in this endeavor, a responsible holistic government would impose high taxes and fees on sick-care and reward holistic-care.

Because there are a few allopathic medications, genetic testing and high-tech devices that can be useful, an experts committee would have to detail exactly what is nefarious for Washington’s Community and what goes in the direction of progress.

Corporate tax contributions as a percentage of the overall revenue stream have been declining for fifty years despite massive record profits.

Depending on size of the company and the usefulness of corporate products for Society, these taxes would be very small (one percent) to over 10 percent. Corporate tax loopholes would need to be revised and changed. Tax fairness also means fewer discriminatory loopholes for the financial elite and more fiscal justice for the others..

Corporate taxes are complex and need to be simplified in Wa State tax code. Tax incidence and payroll tax burdens are often skewed in favor of wealthy corporations. Tax shelters and insufficient enforcement should be better addressed.

MEASURE 7: POSSIBLE TOLL FEES

If the State Treasury needed more revenue, there would be the option to request increased toll fees on the Alaskan Way viaduct, the Highway 520 floating bridge and from visitors driving to down town Seattle. These taxes would also unclog major road arteries. The new Seattle tolls could bring in millions of dollars, thanks to which we could build new city parks and additional outskirt parking areas and help to create hundreds of additional jobs to better maintain these parking areas and new parks. Although we don’t encourage this measure during the first two years of Holistic Governance’s mandate, if there is a need for additional revenue, this measure could be envisaged, depending on the Legislature’s opinion.

On the other hand, we would recommend budget restraint if the Legislature wanted to build a new bridge across the Columbia, which would be too costly.

MEASURE 8: A REASONABLE TAX ON THE SALE OF MARIJUANA

The Washington State Liquor Control Board should levy or not levy marijuana taxes based upon the consumer’s need and income. With this revenue, additional new jobs (eg organic growing, surveillance, distribution etc) should be offered.

The governor however should be concerned about the nefarious effects of smoking marijuana. From smoking, be it cigarettes, eucalypus or pot, there derives lots of tar, benzene and other combustion residues which are bad for the health, including, but not limited to lung cancer problems. There could be possibilities for tax deductions or tax credits for those who take a certified workshop on the best ways to use this medicinal plant.

MEASURE 9: SMALL TAX HIKES ON HARD LIQUOR AND CASINOS

Presently, the liquor and tobacco taxes make up 6 percent of the State’s budget. Holistic Governance would up this percentage.

Contrarily to wines (which are less “alcohol” than medicine beverages when taking in moderation), hard alcohol is bad for the liver, the brain and other vital organs, all of which costs the State a lot of money. There should therefore be a higher hard alcohol tax which will be used to help the smaller organic wine growers to carpet East Washington with more health-producing wines and other healthy produce.

The evidence supports the allegation that wine in moderation helps to raise the good cholesterol (hdl), is an artery scrubber, helps thin the blood (without the deadly risks of allopathic coumadin or wafarin), bestows myriads of anti-oxydants, minerals, vitamines, bio-flavanoids and key anti-aging molecules like pygnogynol and resveratrol, helps with digestion for those who eat animals etc.

As for casinos, the tax coming from this activity may need to be raised a tiny bit so that with the extra money, we can build more health centers in American indian (indigents) grounds.

Increasing estate taxes for the super-wealthy could help Washington State to create thousands of new holistic “basic needs” teachers and teachers to replace vacant positions and fill in new ones.

PART B. TAX REDUCTION AND-OR NO TAXATION

MEASURE 11: NO TO DOUBLE TAXATION BURDEN TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND YES TO TAX RELIEF AND TAX CREDIT TO START UP COMPANIES AND SMALL BUSINESS.

In order to encourage small Businesses and Start Up Companies, these legal entities should benefit from tax relief, eliminate capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation. Providing a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit to most workers in Washington State would be a possibility to discuss.

Self-employed small business owners pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax. This double taxation burden is cumbersome and should be changed.

MEASURE 12: NO TO A GENERAL STATE INCOME TAX, (EXCEPT FOR THE TOP 5 PERCENT) NO TO DEATH TAXES, NO TO INTERNET TAXES OR TO ANY REGRESSIVE TAXES THAT WOULD HURT THE PEOPLE’S HEALTH AND BASIC NEEDS BUDGET.

In order to assuage the People’s fear of high taxes, the Holistic Governance campaign affirms that he is making the commitment to veto any State income tax scheme that the State Legislature may be preparing and all regressive taxes that will damage the People’s health and basic needs budget. The only exception would be a sliding scale-based State income tax on the top 5 percent of income earners.

The restoration of fairness to the tax code is desirable, that which would provide tens of thousands of workers the tax relief they deserve to pay higher energy, food, housing. We would also need to change the regressive payroll tax system.

Within the framework of a balanced budget, Holistic Governance proposes to make the fiscal structure more flexible and progressive via the decreasing (from 5 to 40 percent, depending on the product) of excise and sales taxes for necessary consumption goods (including, but not limited to food and gas prices, which, in Washington State are more expensive than in most of the other states of the Union), the decreasing of property tax with a “home-exemption” for the first 150,000 dollars and a higher tax rebate for low-wage as well as for the benefit of fixed income retired Washingtonians.

The Mid-income earners would also benefit from a home exemption, with a sliding scale in between 50,000 to 120,000 dollars, to be determined via an executive task force.

Abrupt hikes of assessment property values to justify the increasing of the property taxes while the tax value hike is not grounded to the fair market flux should be addressed.

We would favor the reduction of actual property taxes by at least 20 to 50 %, saving the average homeowner at least $1,000 to 5,00 per year.

Regarding property taxes and schools, the Holistic Governance campaign is of the opinion that property tax should not pay for public education, as this leads to the unconstitutional result that wealthy areas benefit from wealthy schools and poorer zones from poorer schools, thereby mis-respecting the constitutional principle known as the “equal application of the laws”.

Once the State fully funds the K-12 basic education system, counties and districts will no longer need to have high property taxes to pay for education bills.

MEASURE 14: ELIMINATION OF THE B & O TAX FOR 90 % OF ALL SMALL BUSINESSES AND LOWERING COST OF EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE: (grossing under $10 million per year)

This measure would generate thousands of additional private sector jobs. Most of the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax is a burden for small businesses which, collectively, are the largest employer in the state.

Small businesses, particularly those with small profit margins, struggle to keep their doors open in this economy. The flawed income tax initiative from 2010 (I‑1098) offered one good idea, increasing the Business & Occupation tax credit to $4,800 per year for small businesses in all categories. The estimated cost of this credit is less than two percent of the state’s revenues, while more than 118,000 small businesses would be exempted from the cost and headaches of paying the B&O tax.

This credit could be phased in over time, and funded in part by changing outdated or ineffective tax policies and preferences. Lowering the Cost of Employee Health Care would be desirable.

PART C: ADDITIONAL BUDGET REVENUES

MEASURE 15: EXTRA FUNDS FROM STATE LITIGATION

The State could also via the Attorney General start class action suits against reckless corporations and win large awards with which to compensate the People who were harmed by said recklessness, provide hefty attorney fees that would go both to the State’s litigating attorneys and the State’s coffers (via the State’s central bank) and additional revenue to pay for health-care.

Reaping large damage awards via the People’s court verdicts and for the People’s benefit is a legitimate way to increase the State’s cash flow while at the same time having an efficient policy which would deter reckless behavior. Attorney General Christine Gregoire had sued the Tobacco companies to provide monetary damage money for all of the health-care costs the State had to dish out as a result of tobacco activities. Holistic Governance could also continue this type of litigation and expand it to other toxic and reckless industries. The targets are numerous. Misleading pharmaceutical products which maim and destroy hundreds of thousands of Americans each year, disease-producing industrial fast foods, persistent pollutants, GMO-glyphosate poisoning and, inter alia, death-generating medical dogmas that have cost the State and the People’s health billions of dollars and millions of lives.

Until the measure to implement the “precautionary principle” becomes law, the government has the duty to vindicate the People’s constitutional right to remain free from civilization-caused chronic diseases and chronic stress via deterring class action suits and products liability litigation.

Prisons are not only expensive (on average, 40,000 dollars per year per prisoner), but usually make the prisoner sicker and more vindictive when he or she comes out without being properly inserted back to Society, thereby quadrupling the rate of recidivism and costing society even more funds and collective suffering.

The Holistic Governance campaign would start with prisoners guilty of small non-violent crimes like marijuana offenses. We would thenceforth guide these liberated souls to sustainable jobs like eco-construction, that which would give them some dignity and self-value back and a salary with which to strengthen the State’s community and become law abiding citizens fully capable of meeting their basic needs.

With the added revenue, from this budget cut, the State would also encourage women inmates to be trained as police officers. Thanks to having a lower amount of testosterone and muscle mass, inter alia, women police officers would not be as aggressive and trigger-happy as male police officers, especially if they were holistically trained and of the same ethnic background as the zones they patrol. Male police officer would also be need in rougher zones, but they too should be holsitically trained thanks to this additional budgetary cut that would save the State a lot of money.

North Dakota has over one billion dollars revenue suplus thanks in part to its State bank, inside of which its tax revenue can stay a while and fructify, that which gives the State additional funds with which to meet the People’s basic needs.

Washington could emulate this exemplary bank and add additional holistic techniques coming from other corrective banking schemes like with the Grameen bank system and other financial institutions.

MEASURE 19: BUDGET REVENUE INCREASE FROM THE CREATION OF 300,000 NEW JOBS FROM HOLISTIC GOVERNANCE’S NEW SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIES

As stated, the Hemp industries is a multi-billion dollars industries capable by itself of creating close to 100,000 new jobs. When we add to this industry the projected new jobs coming from the wellness industry, organic agriculture, tree planting, carbon reduction work and eco housing public work and the new start-up energy industry, we are projecting the creation of another 200,000 new jobs. All of these jobs with feed multiple money streams and bring in additional funds to the State, making the budget stronger.

While it is true that this State gets a lot of federal money and military-related jobs from the Federal government, the State should give the example and signal to Washington D.C. that more militarism is not sustainable and often creates not only more costs, but also more instability and problems. Washingtonians via federal taxes contribute in paying around 58 cents out of every dollar spent by the U.S. government on discretionary programs (ie, the items that Congress gets to vote up or down on an annual basis). Washington State’s two party system has not addressed this military expenditure hike, despite many critical reports by the Government Accountability Office and Pentagon auditors. As federal budget analyst William Hartung points out “the United States is already spending more for defense than all the other nations in the world combined.” (Center for Defense Information ◦ Project on Government Oversight How Much Money Did You Make on the War, Daddy? by William Hartung). Hartung points out that tens of billions of dollars are being wasted on systems like the F-22 fighter plane, the V-22 Osprey (a helicopter that can be transformed into a conventional aircraft), the Virginia class submarine, and an unworkable and unnecessary missile defense system, etc.

Presently, the military budget is being used to fuel wasteful destabilizing foreign interventions that violate constitutional and international law while not addressing international key issues which could consolidate World peace and spur prosperity. Many Washingtonians are losing their lives in wars. The State has a responsibility to contribute in addressing these issues to what may appear to be a misguided Federal authority. Federal decision makers have unleashed 8 wars since the Second World War without a constitutionally required and Congress approved declaration. While Holistic Governance does not negate the State and the Federal Government from having a strong military backbone to ensure collective security, there are many sectors which are wasteful, unsustainable if not unconstitutional. These sectors should not be financed, included via Washingtonians. And with the saved money, we can help developing countries to meet their own basic needs, this way, illegal immigrants will not be tempted to come and stay in America.

Of all of climate change factors, war and the fossil-fuel based defense industry are the biggest climate busters. Because U.S. Mid-East Wars violate Article 39 of Chapter 7 of the U.N Charter & have not been declared, they are illegal. As Wa’s first holistic governor, Joubert would thus negotiate with D.C. to use Washingtonian soldiers & its tax resources only to build eco-communities, organic agriculture structures & to plant billions of carbon sequestering trees in all of the areas the US ravaged. Once the trees reverse deserts’ progression, the drought will stop. With an abundance of rivers & rain, the birds, worms & soil’s bacteria will come back. Thanks to a rich microbiome soil, the energy field will make the Machrekians (Middle Easterners) grateful & peaceful. Wars will cease & the climate will be restored and Washington State’s budget will be stronger.

Olympia’s governmental bureaucracy could be bettered via strategic cuts. Already, the general state government (not including K-12 and higher education) has reduced its workforce by roughly 11 percent from peak employment in June 2008 to present.

With the retirement age at 60 and a work week of 35 hours, as Joubert has proposed since 2012, there would more jobs for those who are graduating from college or tech schools and we could in addition trim down the wastful sectors of big government.

However, for other sectors, the State may need to hire more employees (the implementation of 502 initiative, public expenditure for civil courts access, holistic education etc). Since we plan to double the State’s revenue flow, money shouldn’t be a problem. But as the Republican governor candidate has said, there should be an auditing of each government sector and a concomitant competent task team should evaluate those agencies and sectors, determine which ones are redundant or wasteful and those which need for funds etc.

MEASURE 22: ENDING JOINT AND SEVERAL STATE LIABILITY AND REDUCING LAWSUIT INTEREST COSTS

While the Holsitic Governance campaign is favorable that Washingtonians have standing to sue the State when the State is grossly negligent, we are in agreement to end joint and several liability when defendants can not pay damages.

The joint and several liability rule means that the state can be held 1% at fault in a lawsuit, but has to pay out 100% of the damages in the case if the other parties cannot pay.

The State should not be a cash cow for trial attorneys when the State is not guilty of most of the damages.

As for the State interests costs, under current law, when the state must make a payout in a lawsuit, it is charged a high interest rate, 12%, on that payout as the case makes its way through the appeals process. In a case the former McKenna campaign mentioned regarding home health care workers, that interest was costing the state $33,000 a day. The Joubert campaign agrees that this practice is unfair to the taxpayers.

PART E: MISCELLANEOUS FISCAL AND BUDGET MEASURES

MEASURE 23: LEGALIZATION OF STATE TAX-FREE EXCHANGE OF GOLD AND SILVER COINS AND PROMOTING GOLD AND SILVER AS ANOTHER MEANS OF EXCHANGE

To help with local economies, Holistic Governance would propose the creation of script local moneys as it was done during great depression. The creation of an alternative currency based on equitable “hours” such as the successful one created in New York’s Ithaca community could be interesting.

We could also propose to the Legislature the possiblities of encouraging the State tax-free exchange of gold and silver coins and even paying taxes with silver and gold coins, (Utah has recently legalized the use gold and silver coins and Minnesota, North Carolina, Idaho and at least nine other states have similar bills drafted).

In this perspective then, Holistic Governance proposes to eliminate state taxes on the exchange of gold and silver coins and recommend for the legislature to study an “alternative form of legal tender” as a means of exchange.

MEASURE 24: BETTERING THE STATE EMPLOYEE PUBLIC-HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

The state currently spends nearly 12 percent of its general fund budget, meaning $3.5 billion per biennium, on health insurance for state employees and K-12 staff. Those costs recently increased another 10.5 percent in one year.

The Holistic Governance campaign respectfully proposes to half this cost and to triple the benefits thanks to the holistic health-care plan outlined in the Health section (Issue # 1).

Pending this, we could expand available insurance options for those employees to include holistic wellness plans that reward prevention and healthy living, reducing long-term health care costs for both state government and its employees.

The State could also develop other, lower-cost insurance plan options in conjunction with health savings accounts to incentivize cost-conscious health care consumption, the basis of which could be determined via good faithed negotiations with the public sector union.

MEASURE 25: HARMONIZATION OF TAXES BETWEEEN MARRIED COUPLES AND SINGLE WASHINGTONIANS

Deduction calculations and taxes that are paid by married couples versus single individuals should be more equitable and structured so as to better satisfy basic needs.

MEASURE 26: LESS REGULATIONS SO AS TO FAVOR “CERTAINTY OF ACTION” AMONG SMALL BUSINESSES AND OTHER SECTORS

Many small businesses complain about common obstacles to business growth: delays, uncertainty, regulations and taxes (“durt”).

To help businesses to expand and hire, the Holistic Governance campaign proposes to put in place an expert board meeting to see if we can debulk at least 20 to 40 percent of un-necessary and contradictory regulations.

For example, the Governor’s executive team has 24 executive groups. This ensemble not only disrespects the holistic principle of gender equality (ie, the Jay Inslee executive team has 15 men to 9 women), but some of these groups appear to be redundant. Not being a professional politician, Joubert would nonetheless have to examine this question with more detail later on if he survives the primary elections.

As for the State’s regulatory agencies, to be in compliance with holistic principles, they would need to lower costs and-or redirect efforts, in favor more more efficiency and savings. State regulations sometimes contradict and overlap with federal regulations, adding cost and uncertainty. A task force may be needed to examine the question of inter-agency harmony.

MEASURE 27: SUBMITTING TO THE PEOPLE ANY PROPOSED INCREASE IN TAXES THEY MAY BE AFFECTED BY

If ever the Budget were in need to be balanced (if only to remove the 89.6 billions dollars burden the Democrats and Repblicans contracted in the People’s name) and-or if the People wanted certain services and goods, the people could vote by referendum or initiative on what services and goods they want and-or need and what kind of taxes and how much they would be willing to put up with.

Thus, a good holistic principle would be to find a consent-consultation manner in which the People could better voice their opinion on the tax structure and budget considerations. A task force may be called upon to better study this question.

REFERENCE NOTES

(1). Capital gains taxes are the profit an individual receives from the sale of financial assets like hedge funds and high-end investment partnerships, individually owned corporate stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Hedge funds are investments based on limited partnership of investors that use high risk methods, such as investing with borrowed money, in hopes of realizing large capital gains.